The first butterfly has fluttered by – a brimstone – always the first to greet the early sun. Then a furry bumble bee bumbled into the conservatory and had to be shown the way out with the assistance of a fishing net kept there for that purpose.

We've have had our pancakes: we are now into Lent, the countdown to Easter which will be broken by Mothering Sunday on 30 March and then it is on to Easter – the holiest date in the Christian calendar.

A moveable feast, governed by the moon as it follows a lunar, rather than a solar, calendar and is celebrated on the Sunday that follows the first full moon after 21 March, the vernal (spring) equinox.

Therefore, Easter cannot fall earlier than 22 March or later than 25 April. So this year Good Friday is on 18 April with 21 April being Easter Sunday.

And yet another date to assure us we are on time: Sunday 30 March – yes, Mothering Sunday – clocks go forward one hour to underline the fact we are in Summer Time! Let's just say the days are getting longer and leave it at that.

The Met Office says we are into the vernal equinox – we'll have to wait and see what Summer Time brings us, whatever the weather, and that spring is really here is agreed by those insects. And I have seen a house fly which I presume should not be disregarded as it is also a pollinator and should therefore not be squished too hurriedly.

I have been reminded that I give up playing solitaire during Lent – that will save me a lot of time!

Nowadays we can be so precise about time. In old dramas, meetings were scheduled for sundown or sunrise – obvious times. Not twenty minutes past seven at the blighted oak tree. But time came, or settled, when transport timetables were necessary.

Using the movements of the sun had Bristol a full ten minutes behind London. And so a universal time had to be settled upon. Perhaps the “organisers” of current transport timetables should check their sundials – which are the only accurate ways of telling the time – as long as there is some daylight.

All at sea – but where? There may be sun and stars to navigate by at sea but it was critical to work out longitude and latitude.

It was vital for the safety of ships at sea and after the Scilly naval disaster of 1707 when four Royal Navy warships were lost in severe weather with the loss of between 1,400 and 2,000 seamen, one of the worst maritime disasters in British naval history. Even Parliament realised something must be done .

Much of the disaster was put down to the navigators' inability to accurately calculate their positions. Parliament acted, putting up a hefty reward for the solving of this problem – and the result came from an English carpenter and clockmaker, John Harrison, who invented the long sought-after device to calculate longitude at sea.

His work must have saved thousands of lives over the years but – you guessed it – he never received the full reward due to political rivalries. He presented his first design in 1730, and worked over many years on improved designs, making several advances in time-keeping technology, finally turning to what were called sea watches.

Harrison gained support from the Longitude Board in building and testing his designs.

For Parliament to regulate times for transport within the UK was simpler than back in 1750 when it was decreed that the UK would join most of continental Europe and adopt the Gregorian calendar rather than the previous Julian calendar.

This required some messing about with dates, so there was an 11-day discrepancy between the two calendars.

There are enough complaints these days about having to get up an hour earlier, or later, depending on which end of daylight saving you are complaining of: back then 11 whole days were lost, gone, taken, stolen, snatched, looted – people would never get back those 11 days – all of which would have been golden days filled with love and prosperity: not one of them taken out by bankruptcy, death or stormy weather.

If you have ever had your phone stolen you may, just, get an inkling of what it must have felt like to be told you were going to lose 11 whole days of your life.

Still, we got through it and are still able to complain about early or late nights. And, of course, we can complain about the weather, wherever we are, with our phone apps and so forth. I wonder what watchmaker Harrison would make of all of that.

This month marks the 10th anniversary of my starting this page . And I've not missed a single issue despite time in New Zealand for a wedding which had us returning to the UK just as Covid set in.

I continued throughout lockdowns. I continued whilst staying with my youngest daughter in the Netherlands and shortly after my return to Woking last year when I was diagnosed with cancer. I continued throughout my chemotherapy and then what proved to be my rather disastrous immunotherapy, from which I am still recovering.

I do hope that none of my readers noticed any breaks in transmission and here's to the next few years – which will be greatly helped by submissions from readers.

We probably associate Japan in spring with cherry blossom; the Japanese are certainly highly sensitive to the changes in the seasons and decorate their homes, and themselves, according to the time of year.

The Mayford Arts Society (TASM) will learn more on the subject today (Thursday, 13 March) at 10.30am at the Welcome Church, 1-5 Church Street West, Woking, GU21 6DJ when Pauline Chakmakjian will talk on Seasonality and Decoration in Japan in Spring and Summer. She is a lecturer on a variety of subjects related to the history, fine arts and culture of Japan.

For more information see https://theartssocietymayford.org.uk/Lectures/FutureLectures.aspx

The lecture is free to members of TASM. Visitors are welcome for a fee of £10.

The Brookwood Society Walks are back with an opportunity to see this beautiful site with the help of those who know it well.

On Sunday, 6 April at 2pm there will be a couple of walks to choose from.

Kim Lowe will explore the former non-conformist section, with her own selection of burials from many different beliefs and diverse backgrounds.

Alternatively there is the Symbolism Walk – North Side – 2pm The Victorians placed great importance on symbolism on their graves to help the living mourn and ensure their loved ones went to heaven. Alison Vince will help you understand these symbols.

Booking is essential to keep the average group size to about 15 people to hear the guides. Meet at The Lodge inside the gates off Cemetery Pales.

Booking may be done by e-mail: [email protected] or mobile 07714 289375. A donation of £7.50 per person includes refreshments afterwards at the Lodge and, once received, confirmation of a place on the walk will be given.

Nothing to do with the recommended cemetery walks but following a tip from reader Dorothy Shaw we checked out her comment that her WI group had told her Boots in Woking now accept blister packs.

My daughter hot footed it to Boots – not raising a single blister – and brought back this proof. I just hope those receptacles are in place for a good while; it seems such a waste to just put those packs into landfill.

I do understand that they are difficult to deal with due to the fact that they are of composed of mixed materials but I wish manufacturers would take into account what happens to their products at end of life.

I see that the latest entrant in the blame game surrounding the insecure cladding at the Hilton Hotel is no less a person than God Himself.

Evidently our MP, still trying to get some sense from Sir Robert McAlpine, the company at the heart of this sticky – or unsticky – matter as to when Victoria Way may reopen safely, has been told that “there's a micro-climate around part of the building resulting in some of the panels either coming loose or falling off”.

So “An Act of God” then? Or just an over-watering of the living wall?